In Color

          

           I read an article about a young boy, only 21 months old who speaks two separate languages and knows sign language.  His mother is Japanese and father, American.  When the mother speaks to her son, she speaks to him in her native language while his father speaks to him in English.  This enables the child to learn to communicate with both families fluently.  Sign language is added more for an extra, but certainly the value of the language could be immense.  Additionally, what seems even more interesting is the boy seems to have the innate ability to sense which person needs which language to communicate effectively. 

There are so many different cultures with different languages throughout the world how does a person communicate at all with all the differences? I am thankful I have reasonable mastery of the English language although admittedly, I’d love to learn another language.  But it makes me wonder how many languages is it good to know?  Is it more difficult to learn a language once you’re an adult?  Could learning another language change your attitude about another culture?

A friend recently shared her young son was going to learn Greek.  She said reading the Bible in Greek is like reading it in color.  She compared it to the black and white TV screens.   You could see the picture in black and white, but to see that same picture in color brought it to life.  What an amazing gift.  She went on to explain the Greek language has more tenses and can therefore depict some things more clearly than we can in our English language. 

I love reading God’s word, but to read it the way it was written those thousands of years ago, would be amazing.   How do you view Bible reading?  Do you find it difficult and a chore?  I suggest first using a Bible in plain English, (unless you prefer the King James Version) and second make sure your heart is open to what God has to say.  A person whose heart is not right will read the Words and find it foolishness.  When we have a heart which chooses to make Jesus our Savior, those same words will come to life, kind of like my friend described: “in color!”  They are beautiful and fulfilling, rich and worthwhile, because we recognize them for what they are: the words of Christ given to us so we may grow in Him.  

As a Christian community, I believe we tend to read the Bible out of duty rather than reading it like the road map of life it is meant to be.  The answers to our life questions are found there.  It is the essential “child raising handbook.”  It describes morals, attitudes, and right and wrong.  It is the ultimate marriage manual and even has diet guidelines.  And it offers the path to a relationship with God the Father.  Open a topical concordance, (or do an online search for “topical concordance of the Bible") and you will find an amazing list of topics from which to choose; from which to study.

I challenge you this week to decide on a topic of interest; then diligently, using available resources, read every scripture listed on that subject.  You might even take it a step further and again using resources on line (or the library) search the words you are reading to define them in the Greek translation.  I suggest when you are finished you will likely know exactly how God feels on the matter!  Like the vibrant Fall colors on the trees pictured, you will be reading His Word in color!